Jasprit Bumrah celebrated his 31st birthday by achieving a significant personal milestone, despite India experiencing a challenging day during the opening match of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Adelaide. By claiming the wicket of Australian opener Usman Khawaja, Bumrah reached the impressive milestone of 50 wickets in Test cricket for the calendar year 2024, becoming only the third Indian fast bowler to accomplish this feat.

Bumrah successfully induced an edge from Khawaja's bat, with Rohit Sharma securing the sharp catch at slip, marking India’s sole wicket on Day 1. Currently, Bumrah leads the list of players with the most wickets in the calendar year, surpassing his spin-bowling colleagues Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, as well as England's Shoaib Bashir and Gus Atkinson.

He joins the ranks of Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan as one of the few Indian pacers to achieve 50 wickets in a calendar year, further solidifying his reputation as one of the finest fast bowlers in the nation’s history. Zaheer Khan recorded 51 wickets in 2021, while Kapil Dev had remarkable seasons in 1979 and 1983, with 74 and 75 wickets, respectively.

Bumrah is poised to surpass Zaheer’s record; however, with three Tests remaining in the year, he may find it challenging to match Kapil Dev’s extraordinary totals.

The Indian fast bowler commenced the year strongly with 8 wickets in Cape Town against South Africa, followed by 19 wickets in four Tests against England. His impressive performances continued with 11 wickets in two Tests against Bangladesh, three wickets against New Zealand, and an outstanding eight-wicket haul in Perth, culminating in this notable achievement.

Jasprit Bumrah's Unstoppable Spell: Celebrates 50 Wickets in a Remarkable Year

Bumrah remains at the forefront of the all-format leaderboard in 2024, having secured 65 wickets, which includes performances in limited overs. He maintains a lead over Wanindu Hasaranga and Alzarri Joseph, and he aims to further increase his tally.

The benchmark for Indian fast bowlers across all formats is set at 100 wickets, a record established by Kapil Dev during the victorious World Cup campaign of 1983. Zaheer Khan notably achieved 85 wickets in ODIs in 2002. In the realm of Test cricket, Shane Warne holds the record with 96 wickets in 2005, while Muttiah Muralitharan leads in all formats with a total of 136 wickets in 2001.

As India approaches day two, they find themselves in a precarious position, with Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney accumulating runs that have reduced India's lead to 94 runs, while still having 9 wickets in hand and favorable batting conditions anticipated for the opening session of the day.

Earlier, Mitchell Starc delivered a career-best performance, claiming figures of 6-48 in his first five-wicket haul against India, which contributed to India's total of 180, marking yet another disappointing first-innings score for the team.

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